updated 01:05 pm EST, Mon January 16, 2012

Lumia 900 may be ATT-only for 45 days

Nokia's Lumia 900 might have only a short exclusive period on AT&T and an upgrade before it's out of the market. A rumor floated on Sunday to recently accurate Paul Thurrott had AT&T getting just 45 days' lead time before other US carriers were free to pick it up. They would still have to negotiate, the source from a rival carrier said, but a summer release was considered realistic.

When they did ship, they'd be rewarded for their patience with an upgrade, according to the tip. These follow-up versions would supposedly go from an eight-megapixel camera to a 12-megapixel unit in the process. LTE isn't guaranteed, though, since T-Mobile doesn't have any near-term plans to go beyond HSPA+ 3G on its network.

Officially, Nokia will only tell Electronista and others that the AT&T version of the Lumia 900 was what it had announcements for at CES. However, the company has dropped hints that it will expand the reach of the Lumia 900 to other countries over time, possibly at Mobile World Congress in late February. US expansion if it happens is more likely to come at the CTIA show in May.